The Garden History Society
Symbolism and Design in Ancient Egyptian Gardens Author(s): Alix Wilkinson Source: Garden History, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Summer, 1994), pp. 1-17 Published by: The Garden History Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1586999 . Accessed: 05/06/2013 01:00 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
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ALIX WILKINSON
SYMBOLISM AND DESIGN IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GARDENS with manyof thefeaturesknownnowfrom later AncientEgyptiangardenswereconstructed motivated whichdictatedtheformof But the were byreligiousconsiderations gardens. designers thegardensand whatplantswereusedin them. MEANING,
FUNCTION
AND FORM
In the creationof gardens, as in the creationof language, three elements are involved: meaning, function, and form. Form is universal:the designer of a garden has to take accountof the extent and gradientsof the space chosen, and devise a layout. Function, which is the use made of a garden, varieswith the status and needs of the owner. The garden may be a place for growing particular plants, or it may be designed to accommodategreatcrowds, or it may be a spacefor a few people, or even just one, to sit and enjoy its sights and sounds. Meaningis the philosophy behind the creationof the garden. It can be expressedin statuary,layout, inscriptions, and in the plants, which have significancefor the people of the time. Form and function are constant in garden making;meaningwas importantin earliercenturies. The Countessof Bedfordlaid out her garden at TwickenhamPark in the form of the pre-Copernicanuniverse. Vicino Orsiniin the sixteenthcenturyrepresentedhis autobiographyin statuaryin his gardenat Bomarzo.2The seventeenth-centurylabyrinthat Versaillesheld its own secretmessage.3 Loudon, in the nineteenthcentury,believedthatlandscapegardenerscould improvethe moralfeelings of the visitor.4Gardenswere createdwhich told a story, such as Bunyan's Pilgrim'sProgress,sor the journey from birth to death.6 Plants,7 symbolic of various humanqualitieswereused in the Medievaland Renaissanceperiods.8In the latterpartof the twentieth centuryin the West, symbolism9has largelybeen absent,10except in the work of such designers as Sir GeoffreyJellicoe,11or as a way of creatingatmosphere, althoughrecently a series of essays has been devoted to the meaning of gardens.12 INTRODUCTION
TO MEANING,
FUNCTION,
AND FORM IN ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN
GARDENS
AncientEgyptiangardensweredesignedwith all threeelements, meaning,function, and form in mind. Function, entwined with meaning, dictated form. The differencebetween the ancient Egyptianand modern landscapistsis that the Egyptians began from the mystical properties of a particularplace. Every spot they 7 TennielClose, London W2 3LE
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ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN
GARDENS
selected for a sacred building was where a deity was believed to reside. They also re-createdthe characteristicsof the placewheresome mythologicalevent had happened, by addingarchitecturalandplantfeatureswhichwould be remindersof the myth. These mythswereaboutthe creationof the world, the after-life,and aboutthe lives of the gods. The Egyptians were not searching to impose meaning, in the manner of those who createda park in Mexico City as a culturalreminderof the lost city of Tenochititlan.13 Nor were they like the English garden designers of the eighteenth century who used classical mythology and their Gothic heritage as the language of their buildings and statuary,as, for example, at Rousham. 4 Meaningwas alreadythere, and understood. They were more in the spirit of Henry Hoare, who, at Stourhead,whether playfullyor not, acknowledgedthe water deities of the site and compared the foundation of his dynastichome with Aeneas'sfoundationof Rome, as interpretedby Virgil.15 In Egypt, the territory in which a garden was planted already had its own significanceand residentdeities. Thus the goddess Hathorwas believed to dwell in the mountainchainwhich ranfrom Deir el Baharito Deir el Medineh. Shrinesdedicatedto herwerebuilt over the yearsat eachend of the range,northand south. At Karnak,across the river,the gods, Mont, a falcon-headedwargod, and Amun, calledthe 'Hidden One', alreadyinhabitedthe site on which the temples and gardenswere built. A gardenmirroredthe featuresof a mythologicallandscape,and of the world of the after-life.This landscapehad to be as permanentas possible, and sustainableby future generations.It was a marvelwhich would impressthe priests and courtierswho would understandthe symbolism,andamazethe generalpopulaceandforeignerswho would be awedby the size and splendourof the buildingsand theirgrounds.The palacesin which the kings lived were also sacredprecincts, because the king was himself a god. Palace gardenswere the setting for the ceremonialreceptionof foreign ambassadorsas well as for the entertainmentof the king and the court. Tomb gardenswere intendedto be placeswherethe soul of the dead could find rest and refreshment.The form which resulted from these requirementswas a courtyard filled with trees, under which stood a basin of water for the soul, as bird or human, to drink. MEANING
Thesymbolismof templegardens Meaningwas fundamentalto Egyptianarchitectureand garden design. The design of temple gardensdependedon whetherthey were the cult temple, wherethe imagesof the living gods resided, or were funerary,and were intended for occasionaluse. Gardens were an integralpart of the cult shrine, which was itself a cosmos, representingboth Egypt and the universe. 6 Temple gardensincorporatedwater, which representedthe originalwaterwhich coveredthe earthat the beginningof time, and was the god called Nun, and the vegetationwhich grew aroundand in it. The plants grown in these gardens all had their own symbolism. The waterlilies (Nymphaealotus,Nymphaeacaerulea)floatingon the lakes were remindersthat the sun god had originallysprung from the waterlily,17and papyrus(Cyperuspapyrus)was the home of Hathor,18the sky, and mother goddess, and was also the place where Isis had hidden her son, Horus, after the murderof Osiris, her husband, by his brother, Seth. Palms were sacred to the gods of the sun, moon, and fertility.19Date palms (Phoenix dactylifera)were particularlyconnected with the sun god, doum palms (Hyphaene
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ALIX WILKINSON
3
thebaica)with the scribe of the gods, Thoth, and with Min, the fertilitygod. Anotherof Min's plants was the humble lettuce (Latucasativa).20 The symbolismof tombgardens Tombs were based on the design of the tomb of the god, Osiris, who had been restored from death to life. By imitativemagic, the humandead could enter eternallife by being buried in a tomb like that of Osiris. This tomb consistedof a mound of earthwith trees aroundit, enclosinga tomb chamber(Figure I). An actualrealizationof this conceptwas made at Abydos by King Seti I. It is a temple-like structureon an island, with a tomb beside it, buried under a great mound of earth and sand. Around the mound were planted conifers and tamarisks in six, huge bricklined pits. A tamarisk was believed to be the place where the soul of the
Figure I. Illustrationof the tomb of
j J
thegodOsiriswithina mound.On
the in Marseilles c coffin of Petosiris rV ie M ie Source:JacquesVandier.Manuel d'archeologieegyptienne(Picard, Paris, I952-69), fig 319
god, Osiris, in the form of a bird, i rested (Figure 2). It was also believed to be where the king as the sun was reborn.21Accordingto the solarmyths, the dead king becamethe sun, which the sky goddessswallowedeachnight and gave birthto each dawn. King Mentuhotep (c. 20o-1960 B.C.) planted tamarisks(Tamarixarticuin frontof his tomb and funerarytemple at lata) and sycomore-figtrees (Ficussycomorus) Deir el Bahari(Figure 3). Sycomore-figtrees were the home of the sky-goddess, called alternatively,Hathor, Nut, and Isis. On the easternhorizonof heaven, the sun emerged between sycomore-figsof turquoise.22The sycomoretree had anotherrole, as nourisher of the deceased(see Figure 8). In paintingsin courtiers'tombs, the sky-goddessappears from the sycomore-fig tree at the corer of a pool, holding out bread and fruit and pouringwater. Mentuhotepthus madesurethatthe two treessignificantfor his rebirthas the sun were beside his tomb. Date palms representedthe sun, and had the practical advantageof being able to withstand drought. Single palm trees and flowerbedswere plantedin the open courtyardsof priests'and courtiers'tombs at Memphisand Thebes. The meaning and messageof the gardenswas frequentlyin the sculpture, both in the round and in relief, which representedthe owner in various guises and performing various activities. The sculptures intimated things historical and mythological. The things historical were the relation of the owner to his ancestors, and the things mythologicalwere about the relationshipof the ownerto the gods. The owner appeared in variousguises, and performedvariousactivities,both in sculpturein the roundand in scenesof relief. In tomb gardens,a statuerepresentedthe ownerhimself. It was the living presenceof the deceased, and had to receivethe attentionand respectdue to him. Over life-sizefiguresof Mentuhotepstood in frontof the avenueat his funerarytemple at Deir el Bahari.They were fixed into the rock by meansof deep pedestalswhich wereburiedin the rock. Lion-bodiedsphinxes, with the face of QueenHatshepsut,lined the way across the lowest terraceof her funerarytemple beside that of Mentuhotepat Deir el Bahari. The status of the owner is demonstratedby the size of the gardenand its enclosure, and by the size and splendour of the buildings and their decoration. Royal gardens were much larger than those of anyone else: Mentuhotep's grove at Deir el Bahari was about 50 m square: a garden at el-Amaranacovered an area of about a length of 96 m.
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ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GARDENS
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Figure 2. The soul of Osiris in the form of a bird perchedin a tamarisk.In the temple of Hathor at Dendera Source:JacquesVandier,Manuel d'arch6ologie 6gyptienne(Picard,
&t~ N y~f?
~
8js,r/
~Paris,
1952-69), fig. 319
treesin frontof Mentuhotep's
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Figure 3. Reconstruction of the trees in front of Mentuhotep's
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The royal dominance over nature is demonstrated by bringing plants into the desert, rather than by draining areas of marsh, as for example, at Versailles, or carving out a clearing in a forest. Summary Temples were not, as in eighteenth-century Europe, 'trifles best seen by chance'.3 but the main building, and raison d'etre of the garden. Statuary and sculpture were not just decorative features. They were bearers of religious as well as political messages. FUNCTION The function of temple gardens was to produce the floral, vegetable, and fruit offerings needed for the rituals of the gods, as well as for the perfumes used for anointing the statues, and to provision the staff of priests and workpeople in the temple.24 Hatshepsut and some of her successors tried to grow incense trees, Commiforamyrrha, and possibly
Boswelliasacra,in their gardens.25Hatshepsutsaid she brought 'greenannt trees from Punt (Figure 4). 'Greenantenth identifiedboth with myrrh26and with frankinhas space provided provided by by gardens gardens was used for processions within the temple temple cense. The space
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ALIX WILKINSON .WILKINS..O S...ef, r. and , ?iA had to accommodate enclosure, '~?~~:~:~~nsu~
~
5
large gatherFigure 4. Incense trees broughtto .Egypt from Punt
Th open-air temple. It had a central lake, surrounded by temples and other buildings. enclosure may have represented earth,Bahari
, east-west Deir (London 894oriented
is
the 8), route of
Amama there was a walled park-like area, called Maru-Aten, which may have been an Kar temple of
ak, h Amun, Mut, and Khonsu, were caied
by priests, accompanied by an
temple of Karnak, Amun, Mut, and Khonsu, were carried by priests, accompanied by an and othe gods of KaThiak excited throng, to the Luxor temple. At the Festival of the Valley,2s sailed across thver, so that the statues of the 'lving gods' could visit the 'dead gods' in the funerary temples on the west bank of the Nile. In order to reach Hatshepsut's temple formed at Deir el Baharibetween temples which asat thewould procession go from her riverside Vafley Tempstivals, probably also surrounded by trees,29 along a tree-lined canal to her funerary temple. Menageries were included in gardens. Live animals in the royal gardens reflected the king's ambition to collect the living world around him, and to have animals of particular significance as his attendants. Lions, the royal animal par excellence, decorated his throne and chariot. Lions were kept in cages at the entrance to royal gardens at Karnak (see Figure 12), and antelopes, oryx, and ibex were kept at Karnak and Amarna. Aviaries were probably part of the garden design at Amarna in the 'Northern Maru'. Birds illustrated at Amarna, and presumably living in the gardens, included rock pigeon, turtle dove, great spotted cuckoo, grey-lag goose, pied kingfishers, geese, and ducks. Ducks and geese were ornaments as well as being edible, as were the fish. Animals were bred at various temples. Some were the animals sacred to the deity of the temples, such as rams at Mendes and Elephantine, bulls at Memphis, Bubastis, and Akhmim, and pigs at Memphis. Others were needed for the offerings in the temple. During the Old Kingdom (2600-2I50 B. C. ) birds were reared at the sun temple of Niuserre. Kings arranged for the construction of fowl-yards in the temple of Amun at Karnak. Seti II said the temple was,
'filled with geese, cranes, ducks, doves and [otherkinds of fowl] to provide the divine offerings for his father Amun'. In the later periods, they were reared so that pilgrims
could offer them as sacrificesto the deity of the temple. Mummifiedibises, have been found in huge numbers at Saqqara, Hermopolis, Athribis, and Abydos, and cats, apes,
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ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN
GARDENS
and crocodiles,at Tuna el Gebel, Mareotis,and in the Fayum. Shrinesof the crocodile god, Sobek, are illustratedfrom the Old Kingdomup to the Ptolemaicperiod. Temples of Sobek are known at several places including Kom Ombo, Edfu, and Hermonthis (Armant),where the water-penfor the crocodileshad a movable hatch through which they were fed. The function of temple gardens was to provide floral, vegetable, and animal offeringsand provisions,whereasthe functionof tomb gardenswas to be availableto the spiritof the deceasedas a placeof shadeand refreshment,and to thatend they wereoften illustratedon the walls inside the tomb. The externalgarden was the place to which relativesand priests could bring waterand offeringsfor the spirit of the deceased. FORM
Gardendesignin general Since they areat the beginningof the storyof garden-making,and set the agendain form for gardensthroughoutthe Near Eastand beyond, ancientEgyptiangardenshave many of the features well known from later times. The glory of gardens depends on their design, on the way they are laid out and structured, and on the decorative features, skilfullyplacedto enhancea view or evoke ideas. Afterthese foundationshave been laid, the plantingbringscolour, light, and shade, and variationsin height. Ancient Egyptian gardenswere no exception. Egyptiangardenswereformal.30They wereaxiallyplanned,as for example, Hatshepsut's funerary temple at Deir el Bahari which was approachedby a series of rising courtyards.A building, whether tomb or shrine, was the focus and point of departure. The unity of the buildingand the gardenswas usuallyevident. Straightlines predominated in the design and in the plantings. Symmetryis found in the repetitionof like with like. For example, twin groves, twin trees, and twin pools. Geometryis exemplifiedin the arrangementof rectangleswithin a garden. In the illustrationwhich survives of a gardenat Karnak,the layoutconsistsof a rectangularwalledareain the centreof which is a vineyard(Figure 5) surroundedby walled gardens, some of which are orchards,and some of which have pools and a shrine. Identicaltrees were planted in avenues at the funerarytemple of Mentuhotepat Deir el Bahari,and on the approachto the temple of Karnak,where there was an avenueof sycomore-figtrees, underplantedwith vines and papyrus(Figure 6). Elementsof thedesigns Gardenswere laid out with a strong structure,makinguse of differentlevels linked by terraces, and often centred around pools of water. Steps and stairways emphasized changes in levels and viewpoint. Terraces, which 'can be the supreme expression of gardenart',31had balustradessupportingthe steps linking the different levels, as, for example, at Queen Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el Bahari. Trees were grown on the lowest terrace.32At the bottomof the ramp, aroundthe papyruspools were about66 pits cut in the rock, probablyfor flowerbeds,33ratherthanfor the incense treesbroughtfrom Punt.34It is not certainwhere these were planted. The gardenof the 'King's House' at Amarnawas terraced,35as is an estate at Karnak(see Figure 12). Areas with their own individualitywere separatedby walls or trees. Within these areas,arcadesand colonnadesprovideda varietyof texturesanda backgroundfor plants.
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ALIX WILKINSON
Figure 5. The gardenillustratedin the tomb of SennuferTT 96. Paintingmade by Dr Ricci for Henry Salt. Courtesyof the Trusteesof theBritishMuseum Photo:author
Figure 6. The approachto the temple of Karnak. Source:Normande GarisDavies,The Tombof Nefer-Hotepat Thebes(New York,I948)
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ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GARDENS
Sunken atriumgardensinside buildings have been found in excavationsin four ceremonial areasat Amarna:in the 'centralpalace', inside gardenbuildings in the open air temple, the Maru-Aten,in the 'NorthernMaru', and at the site to the south of the city, calledKom el Nana. Courtswith pools andflowersaroundthem besidediningroomsand bedroomsin the palaceat Amarnaare illustratedin severalofficials'tombs (Figure 9). These floralrepresentationsmay be paintedpavements,actualexamplesof which were found at Amarna. Vistas were controlledby avenues, and concentratedthe eye on a particularview. Fromthe funerarytempleson the west bankat Thebes, the vistasconvergedon the Nile, andbeyondit on the templeof Karnak.Equally,a processionleavingKarnakwould have its sights set on the temples at Deir el Bahari. Constituentswithin a garden
Waterwas the centralfeatureof many gardens.The temple lake was not only the water sourcefor the temple, but was the placewhereritualswereperformed,such as takingthe statue of the deity out in a boat. On the pathwaybeside the lake, processionspassed on variousfestivalssuch as for the Burialof Osirisat Karnak.36Sometemplelakeswerevery large, the one at Karnakmeasured132 by 80 m. The lake in the Maru-Aten,at Amarna was I20 m by 60 m. Othertemple-lakeswere smaller:33 m by 28 m at Dendera, or i8 m by 20 m at the Eighteenth-Dynastytemple at Medinet Habu. The king was rowed on a lake in a specialbargeas partof a religiousceremony,37and afterhis deathhis statuewas rowed out on memorialdays.38Private gardens sometimes contained lakes. Officials describedthe extensivelakes on their properties,39and a lake largeenough for a boat to travelon is illustratedbesideDhutnufer'shouse (ThebanTomb 80). Peoplevaluedpools as sourcesof refreshmentand coolness. In them they bred fish and birds for food. There were also cisterns,which storedwaterfor supplyingthe plantsin the gardens.Pools were stepped, so that the watercould be reachedwhen the pool was nearlydry (Figure 7). The edges of some pools provided terraces for marsh plants. The shapes of pools were rectangularand T-shaped. The T-shapewas the form in which the channelsin front of temples were arrangedas landing areas. The T-shape also reflects the form of a place whereofferingswere made(Figure 8). It is this meaningwhich explainsthe shapeof the pools beside the rampsin the courtyardof Hatshepsut'stemple at Deir el Bahari.These pools were filled with growingpapyrus,indicatingthe point where the goddess Hathor, as a cow, appearedout of the mountain. One of the featuresillustratedin the wall-paintingsis a ceremoniallandingplatform surrounded by a low balustrade. An actual platform was found at the temple of RamessesIII, at MedinetHabu, juttingout into the pool in front of the temple gateway. These platformsforeshadowthe lakeside jetties still remainingin Moghul gardens.40 Bridges have not survived, but a long, stone-builtquay was found jutting out into the lake at Amarna, in the Maru-Aten.41Such a jetty remains in the Shalamargarden at Lahore.Waterwas broughtin canalsto feed the gardens,andwas a featurearoundwhich a gardenwas created.A pond markeda focus of interest, sometimesa gardenkiosk was set beside it (see Figure 5). Buildings in gardens were the dwelling of gods, whether they were magnificent stone temples covering several acres, like the temple of Amun at Karnak, or small, stucco-coveredbrickshrinesin the gardensof privatehouses. Buildingscould simply be bowersmadeout of papyrus,or pleasurepavilionsprovidingshadeand somewhereto sit,
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ALIX WILKINSON
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